We Belong Together
by samanthabravo
Summary: A collection of non-linear Joey and Kelly one shots and short stories. They will forever be one of my favorite couples. Enjoy!
1. One Day at a Time

****We Belong Together****

**_This is a collection of Joey and Kelly one shots and drabbles. I loved them so much back in the day and I still love them today. Can you say 'soulmates'? I hope you enjoy my tribute to Jelly!_**

* * *

**A/N: **This first one shot takes place back in late 1999/early 2000. Basically a serial rapist and murderer was stalking females in Llanview and Joey found a dead blonde he thought was Kelly at first but of course, fortunately, it wasn't her. Still, that scenario makes for an interesting plot for this angsty one shot.

* * *

****One Day at a Time****

He held her close to his chest, cradled her really, as she watched tears form in his eyes. "God, Kel, if it had been you ..."

Kelly placed her hand on his chest in an attempt to calm him and reassure him. "Joey, it wasn't me," she said. "So you don't have to worry anymore."

Joey nodded. "I know, but when I found that woman in the grass, face down, all I could see was her blonde hair and I thought 'Kelly, that's Kelly'. And when it wasn't there was so much relief inside of me. I realize someone died; that it was horrible and tragic for them and their loved ones, but if it had been you..." Again his voice trailed off before he added, "I never would have gotten over it."

Kelly rested her head against his chest and she began to think where she had actually been when Joey was discovering a dead body at Angel Square. She had been cuddled up in his brother's arms, enjoying his kisses as much as she despised them. If Joey knew that, he'd surely never forgive her. But some part of her... Well, some part of her - maybe her conscience or just an insanity gene - almost wanted to confess so she could stop feeling so guilty and so she could try to make things right and figure out why she always screwed up relationships so badly, especially the best one she ever had.

"Joe, you are so sweet," she said. "If you only knew what I was ..." She sighed and felt tears prick the back of her eyes. "God, you wouldn't have missed me if you knew the truth. You maybe would have wanted me to be that dead body."

Joey looked at her in shock and horror. "How can you say that? I would never in a thousand years wish you gone; not for anything. I love you too much."

At that admission of true, abiding affection Kelly burst into tears. Joey immediately pressed his lips to her cheeks and tried to kiss away her tears, cupping her chin in his hands. "Kelly, it's okay. I know you're upset about the events of this evening, but its okay. You're okay."

"I'm not, Joey, I'm not okay," Kelly murmured as tears continued down her face. "What I did ... It's not okay."

Joey stared at her. "I don't know what you mean."

Kelly pulled away from him and got to her feet. They had been sitting by the fire but it failed to warm her in any way. "I just don't deserve you, Joe. Maybe I never have. You're good and kind and amazing and -"

Joey got up as well and reached for her hand but she pulled away. She didn't deserve his love, his understanding. She didn't deserve anyone so wonderful. She had betrayed him time and again and he didn't deserve that.

"What's wrong, Kelly?" he asked. "It's like you can't stand to be around me tonight."

Kelly shook her head. "It's not that, Joey. It's that I don't feel I _deserve_ to be around you - tonight or any other night."

"What are you talking about? Of course you deserve me. We worked so hard to get back to this place; this good place where we can finally be happy."

Tears kept coming. "Joey, I wish that I could tell you the truth ... But if I do, you're going to walk out on me and I couldn't take that. I love you too much -"

He held up a hand. "Why do I feel a 'but' coming here?"

Kelly dabbed at her moist face. "Cause you know me too well. You always have. But you've always put so much faith and trust in me and like I said, I don't deserve it."

Joey shook his head. "That's not true. And you can tell me whatever's on your mind. Nothing will ever make me walk out on you or leave you."

"This will."

"No, it won't. Talk to me, okay? Tell me what has you so upset."

"Jesus, Joe, I don't know where to begin. I just don't."

"You can start from the beginning," Joey said.

"I don't know where it all started really. I guess after Grace died maybe. Kevin was distraught. He needed someone. We were working closely together on The Banner. One thing lead to another and before I could honestly say why I did it, we were ..." Her voice broke off as she saw the look of shock, horror and devastated realization on Joey's face.

He shook his head. "You're saying that you - you and MY BROTHER - are ..." He couldn't say the words anymore than she could.

"Yes, Joey, yes. We have been ... sleeping together. For the past few months. I wish I could say it didn't mean anything but that would be a lie because I know it means something to you; something to our relationship."

"Damn right it does, Kelly! You've been sleeping around on me - with MY BROTHER. How - how could ... Why wasn't I enough for you?"

"You were, Joey, god you are! I love you so much. I don't know why I keep destroying the single best person I ever have known. I keep costing you everything."

"If I was important to you, if you really loved me, you never would have done this," Joey spat and started for the door when she called out after him.

"You promised, Joey. You promised you wouldn't walk out on me. Not for anything."

Joey whipped around. "You're going to hold me to that promise? After you admitted you and my brother have been fooling around - sleeping together, keeping me in the dark for months like a total fool?"

"I am sorry if it sounds like I'm blackmailing you, using your words against you. Maybe I am in some way, but I don't want you to go. I don't love Kevin; I never have. I was just afraid - afraid to be loved so much by you. Afraid if I didn't hurt you first, I'd lose you."

"Psycho-babble, Kelly. That's what it is."

"I know and it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of why I do the things I do but I swear, Joey, you are the only one for me. Tonight when I saw the fear in your eyes when you recalled thinking I was dead ... I knew I could never give that up. That I don't want to. I know it will take awhile, a long while, to gain your trust back after what I did but I want to try, Joey. I will do anything. Just don't give up on me."

Tears now dripped down Joey's face and Kelly longed to reach out and wipe them away but didn't dare. She had put them there; how could she dare take them away? He was entitled to them. She had betrayed him in the worst way imaginable. But god, did she love him. God did she ever. It had taken a helluva lot of mistakes to realize just how much he meant to her but he really did mean the whole world to her.

"Some day, Joey, say you can forgive me some day."

Joey slowly nodded. "I can forgive you in time for this affair, Kelly, but I ... I couldn't have forgiven you if you left me, if you died, if you walked out for good. We can make this right one day. It will just take time."

Kelly nodded. "I love you, Joey Buchanan. Maybe you don't believe that now but its true. I will never stop fighting for you, for us. Believe that."

"I do believe it. We'll figure this out, Kelly, one day at a time."

FINIS.


	2. Proposal

**Proposal**

Their life had been so calm, so peaceful and happy since leaving Llanview that it was kind of unreal. Their relationship had always been fraught with so much drama and chaos that they had either created themselves or fell into but here they were on another continent and it was making a big difference. They got to know each other again and they made plans and shared their dreams just like before they broke up, although they were both determined they would never let what happened before ever happen again.

Now Joey was at the point where he was ready to pop the question and ask her to be his forever again. He just wanted the moment to be as perfect as it could possibly be. It had to be a lot better than the first proposal all those years ago had been, so he puzzled over it and puzzled and puzzled over it some more until he was literally up pacing at night.

On the sixth sleepless night, Kelly finally confronted Joey about his anxiety when she woke up for the third time in one night because he was __loudly__ stumbling into furniture in the dark. She flipped on the light. "What are you doing, Joey?" She asked.

Looking at her now, hair all in disarray and skin completely makeup free, he decided that he had never seen her look quite so beautiful. In that moment he couldn't resist blurting out, "Marry me, Kelly, _marry me!"_

She looked incredibly surprised. "Are you – are you serious?"

"Yeah," Joey said. "Very serious." He then moved over to his sock drawer where he had stashed the ring, a newly purchased one, a symbol of their new beginning. He then walked to her side of the bed and got down on one knee.

"I was planning a proposal that would rival any other. We'd go to dinner and we'd dance and you'd look amazing in a dress that matches your eyes and I'd be in a suit and tie. Our song would be playing in the background as I popped the question but in this moment, I just can't wait any longer to ask you to be mine again. You've never looked more beautiful to me."

Kelly's eyes misted. "Eye boogers and all?" She joked.

He nodded. "Eye boogers and all… I love you, Kelly Cramer, and I want – no, I __need__ – you to be my wife again. You are all I've ever wanted and you're the only woman that I've ever truly loved. So what do you say? Will you make me a very happy man and marry me - again?"

Kelly grinned as a tear slid down her cheek. "Yes, Joey, yes I will marry you. It's always been you for me too and I want to be your wife - again."

Joey smiled and slowly slid the ring onto her finger. Then he kissed her and she laughed and smiled into it as they fell back onto the bed together. This was their life now. And it was good


	3. The Lovers' of Christmases Past

****The Lovers of Christmases Past****

Joey received a call from his sister Jessica asking him to come home; it was "urgent". Before he could answer, she had hung up. He was in New York City working on a new project when the call came in and he booked the next flight to Llanview.

He showed up on the doorstep of Llanfair in the pouring rain only to find Jessica wasn't home but rather Kelly was. Kelly, looking so gorgeous and perfect in a red sweater and black slacks. Seeing her for the first time in so many years, he felt he could have forgiven her for anything right then and there. Almost.

"Jessica?" He managed to choke out. "Where is she? She called me … Said it was urgent … Said I needed to hurry home … I thought something … Hell, I don't know what I thought," he mumbled barely incoherently, rambling a mile a minute.

His eyes then locked on the candle-lit table with goblets of wine and all kinds of cheeses and fruits piled high on plates. "There was no emergency was there?" Joey asked.

Kelly sighed. "That's not exactly true, Joey," she said. "I was in a hurry to see you. It was an emergency."

He cocked his head to the side, wondering what the hell she was trying to say. All he himself could manage was a "huh?"

"I've missed you, Joey, I've really missed you," she said, walking over to him and taking his hand. "It's Christmas Eve. You should be here with your family and friends and … me …"

Joey withdrew his hand from her grasp. "I take it Kevin and you are on the outs again."

Kelly sighed again. "Joey, this is not about Kevin."

"Isn't it?" Joey snapped. "Isn't everything you've done for the past ten years all about my brother?"

"Joey, Kevin and I are broken up but honestly it was my choice this time."

Joey raised an eyebrow, looking at her skeptically. "Oh really?"

"Really," Kelly said. "I finally realized what I had given up by choosing Kevin over you."

"Its ten years damn too late, Kelly."

"Well I never stopped loving you, Joey, never. I tried. I tried so hard. I kidnapped a baby, I blackmailed Kevin to stay married to me … I did a lot of things that I would never have done if I wasn't trying to hold onto an illusion. Kevin and my marriage – our whole relationship was just an illusion and I am so sorry it took so long to realize that. I am so, so sorry."

"That doesn't make everything right," Joey said. He looked into her eyes then and saw the tears and the hurt and the extreme regret in the blue orbs.

Without thinking, he reached for her hand and pulled her closer to him. "It doesn't make it right, Kel, but there's time, I guess …"

"You mean …"

"Its Christmas Eve, Kelly, we're standing under the mistletoe. We can figure out everything later but for now I just want to hold you."

Kelly nodded and eyes misting with tears, immediately stepped into his arms where he held her close for the longest time, never wanting to let go.


	4. Loving You

****Loving You****

_****A short Jelly ficlet.****_

* * *

****Moonlight****

Standing there on the rooftop in the darkness, she felt him take her hand and squeeze it tightly. And she knew in that moment, without a doubt, that she had never ever stopped loving him.

****Fire****

She snuggled in his arms as they watched the flames dance before them in the hearth. "Tomorrow we'll be back in Europe with Zane… How do you feel about that?"

"I feel great," he assured her. After all, home was wherever she was.

****Happy****

Kelly and Joey were beyond thrilled when they asked Zane how he felt about them rekindling things and all he said was, "It's cool... Now can I go play my video games?"

****Massage****

"Foot massage?" Joey asked as they snuggled on the bed together.

"Ooh. What's the occasion?"

"Do I need a special occasion to pamper my girlfriend?"

Kelly smirked. "Girlfriend?"

"Yep. For now," he said with a mysterious twinkle in his blue eyes.

****Wine****

Joey placed a champagne flute into her tiny hands. His eyes held a noticeable sparkle.

"Joey Buchanan, what exactly are you planning?"

"Why do you think I'm planning something?"

"Because I know you."

"That you do." She went to sip her drink and nearly choked on something. She came up sputtering, spitting out a … __ring.__ "Ohmigod, Joey. Is this -?"

"Uh-huh." He was down on his knees in a second. "Kelly Cramer, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife – __again?"__

****Cuddle****

They cuddled in bed after celebrating their engagement in grand style. She had a lazy smile on her face as she looked at her pink diamond ring. "New ring, new start," Joey whispered.

****Insanity****

"Blair, am I crazy for thinking of getting married again?" Kelly asked her cousin over Skype. "I don't want to mess things up between Joey and me."

"Do you love Joey?"

"Madly."

"I think you have your answer then."

"Yes, I think I do."

****Wasted****

"Promise not to get drunk and shove dollar bills down a stripper's G-string," Kelly said with a smirk but he could see right through it to her nervousness.

"First of all, Kev's not taking me to a strip club for my bachelor party," Joey said. "Second, when are you going to believe I'm not about to leave you?"

"When I stop worrying I'll mess things up again."

"You won't, and I won't either. I like to think we've learned from our mistakes. And, Kel, we __both__ made mistakes so please stop punishing yourself. Can you do that?"

Kelly smiled. "I'll tell you what. I can__try."__

****Married****

The wedding was a grand affair. Everything turned out lovely, but nothing was more beautiful than the sight of Joey spinning his niece Bree around the dance floor to the tune of "Have a Little Faith in Me." It reaffirmed for Kelly exactly how good of a father Joey would be. God willing, they would have a bevy of kids together someday.

****Honeymoon****

The honeymoon in Paris was perfect until Kelly got really ill halfway through it. A quick visit to the doctor confirmed what she had suspected. She and Joey were having a baby of their own. Life had come full circle. She felt complete. Maybe could stop looking over her shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop. As far as she was concerned, she and Joey were going to last forever. And she couldn't be happier about that.

**the end**


	5. Put a Ring On It (1 of 3)

**Put A Ring On It**

**Part 1/3**

He opens the door to his room and he immediately breaks out into a smile upon seeing her standing there. "Kelly, _hello!"_ He greets her happily. Her smile was faltering before because she was so consumed with worry over whether she should come here after all; if she should actually accept his invitation to go to lunch at The Palace just like in the old times. But now her smile is as bright as his own - if not more so.

"Hey, Joe," she greets him back. She feels like a silly school girl head over heels in love for the first time and yet she knows she isn't. That she has been in love with him all along and the other marriages, the other relationships, and the horrible affairs didn't stick; didn't work out, because they weren't supposed to. They weren't meant to last. Joey was hers always and she wants to be his again, forever and ever, this time.

He pulls her into his room and closes the door with the toe of his dress shoes. He's wearing a button-down white shirt and black trousers and he looks so perfectly put-together. She wonders how he can be so calm around her after all they've shared, after all their complicated history, after the ugliness, especially. But she started the ugliness, she carried it on, so he has zero reason to feel awkward. That's all on her. She's here to tell him she is owning up to the many mistakes she made. She knows where she belongs. Where he belongs. _They belong together. _

Telling him all this though ... It will be difficult ... but maybe a bit easier than she originally anticipated because he was the one who invited her to lunch and he was the one who said he had something "life-changing" (his words) to tell her.

He reaches out and lightly taps her chin quickly, yet so affectionately. His touch burns her skin, even after all this time. She's sure she's doing the right thing being here; laying her heart on the line once and for all. She's ready to spill her guts, and do her penance, whatever it takes. Because she wants Joey back and she always has wanted him. She just lost her way, lost sight of what was important - how important he was to her and her life - and now thank god, she knows it's him and it's always going to be him.

"I can't get used it," he says.

"What?" She asks, almost too quickly. "I mean ... well, what do you mean?"

"Your hair. It looks so natural in color. I mean, where is the bottle-blonde Madonna-wannabe hair?"

Kelly smiles. "Oh, I ditched that look years ago."

"Yeah, I guess so huh?" He smiles again and this time there's a little tinge of sadness in the smile, but then the look is quickly gone and he's as bright and charming as ever. "Alright. Let me just finish getting ready and then we can go to lunch."

"You look ready to me, Joe. You actually really look great."

Joey nods and laughs. "Thanks. I just have to do a mouth-rinse and floss and I'll be all set."

"You're just going to get your teeth all filled with cavities again at lunch," she jokes.

"I know, but I like to be presentable. Things change, I guess. I don't just throw on a tee-shirt anymore and call it a day."

"I can tell," she says and watches him slip into his bathroom and shut the door. For a moment, though she doesn't know why, but she feels unsettled and nervous. Not in the anticipatory, butterflies-in-her-stomach kind of way that actually propelled her to drive over to Llanfair in the first place. No, it's an uncertain, maybe-this-won't-turn-out-the-way-you-want-it-to-Kelly, kind of way.

Until she sees the ring box. It's sticking out of the pocket of his expensive suit jacket which is so casually tossed over the back of the chair. _A ring box... _

She might start hyperventilating. She really can barely breathe as she closes the distance between herself and the jacket and instinctively pulls the box out of the pocket. Her whole hand trembles as she opens the lid and looks at the stunning pink diamond ring sitting in the velvet container. A pink diamond! It's so perfect, so unique, so original. So ... Joey. So ... her. This is the ring that she's meant to wear for the rest of her life; she can feel it.

Now it all makes sense. Why he's dressed up and wanting perfect dental hygiene. He's going to propose again. _Oh god._

"I have to call Blair," she whispers to herself and she quickly sets the ring box down on the desk and reaches for her phone in her oversized purse. But she ends up picking up the box up again and pulling the diamond out. She can't help it. She wants to wear it; just for a second. Then she will take it off and put it back in the box and back into the coat pocket so Joey will never be the wiser and she can act totally surprised when he asks, even while inwardly she will be screaming for him to hurry and pop the question already - she's been waiting all her life and she doesn't want to wait anymore - while she already has a "YES!" on the tip of her pink tongue.

She slides it onto her finger. It's snug, but she forces it down as much as she can. She admires it as she punches Blair's phone number on speed dial.

After what seems like forever, Blair's husky voice answers, _"Hullo?"_

"Blair, it's Kelly! _Ohmigod._ You are never going to believe what's just happened. Or actually, what's _about_ to happen. Or where I'm standing right now and what I'm wearing and -"

"Kelly, are you drunk?"

_"No!"_

"Then slow the hell down and talk like a normal person. Jeez. What's going on?"

"Okay well, I can't talk slower because Joey will be out of the bathroom any minute and I have to take off the ring and put it back and act surprised when he-"

"I'm lost..."

"Blair, Joey's going to propose to me! He invited me to lunch; he got all dressed up and he smells amazing too boot. He had a ring - a pink diamond which is beautiful beyond belief - poking out of his coat pocket. When he went to the bathroom, I put it on and its snug but it feels so right. I am meant to wear Joey's ring again!"

"You are meant to be in St. Ann's, Kelly," Blair says and Kelly almost laughs.

"Maybe so, but I got that Mary J. Blige song 'Put a Ring on It' stuck in my head and -"

"I am pretty sure you mean Beyoncé, and it's not a song about-"

"Oh shit, Blair, gotta go! I heard the faucet turn off. He will be out any second."

"Okay ... well, bye then."

"BYE!" Kelly chirps and she sticks her phone back inside her purse and then goes to remove the ring. She gives it a tug. And another tug. And still another, but it does not budge even half a centimeter.

_Shit!_ Joey will know she was snooping. She'll ruin his surprise...

Then the door is opening and he's walking out and beaming at her in that heartbreaking, so Joey kind of way. "Hey, ready to go?" He asks.

Kelly nods. "Yeah." She is hiding the ring behind her back. But of course she doesn't realize that the ring box itself is still sitting open, empty on the desk, and of course he sees it.

He looks at her. "The ring...?"

Kelly blushes and slowly withdraws her hand from behind her back. "I tried it on. Don't get mad, okay! It was ... it was just so beautiful. I couldn't wait for you to ask me to be yours again, so I just put it on and now it's stuck ... And why ... God, Joe, why are you looking at me like that?"

He isn't smiling anymore. No, he actually looks sad. And apologetic. She's made another huge mistake. Now she knows it, and she can't take it back.

"It's ... It's ... The ring is not for me ... Is it, Joe?"

He shakes his head and he looks at his highly-polished dress shoes before looking at her again. "No, Kel, no, it's not …"


	6. Put a Ring On It (2 of 3)

**2/3**

She winces involuntarily. "God, I am so stupid. How could I think after what I did ... after all this time …" She trails off as he looks at her apologetically. Oh she can handle anything, but that look.

_"__Kel –"_

She holds up a hand. The hand with the ring still stuck on it. She blushes. "Never mind… Let's just get this thing off, okay?" She says. "Got any butter?" She is trying to make a joke out of this awkward situation, but it's not going over too well. She feels as pained as he looks.

"I do have lotion," Joey said. "Let's try that first."

"Good idea," she agrees and watches as he moves over to a drawer and withdraws a bottle of lotion he probably bought cheaply at a grocery store. So pragmatic. So Joey. Boy, she is _aching_ right now.

He returns to her side and starts to reach for her hand and then seems to think better of it. He actually asks, "May I?" Have they come to the place where they need permission to even touch each other's fingers?

"Of course," she says, and wills her hand not to tremble as he touches her. Fortunately, she keeps her hand steady as he squeezes lotion into his palm and then reaches for her hand. He massages around the ring until it comes slowly down her knuckle and off into his hand. He pulls away and she instinctively feels the loss of him. She has lost him. Hell, she lost him a long time ago; she just couldn't admit it.

He grabs a towel from the bathroom and hands it to her wordlessly. She wipes off her slimy fingers and then heads for her purse. "Well, I'll see you later," she says.

"Kel? What about lunch?"

She pauses in her tracks. Without turning around, she says, "Well, uh, I think I can already guess what your life-altering news is and I'm not that hungry."

She hears him sigh and then walk around her until he is facing her. Although her eyes are suddenly entranced with the pictures on his wall. "We need to talk, Kelly," he says.

"I am not up for that right now," she admits, because it's true. If he tries to let her down easy, she's going to cry hysterically. And she doesn't want to cry in front of him. Hasn't she embarrassed herself enough already?

"Is there a better time?" He asks. "You thought I was proposing and I just want you to know I will always care about you and –" She doesn't hear the rest. Oh god, he _is_ trying to let her down easy. And he didn't say he will always love her even. Just that he will always care. As if she's a friend, as if their past, their history; was nothing more than a passing fling. Like they weren't once each other's everything.

She somehow holds back her tears and shakes her head. "Joey, it's okay. It was really dumb of me to think after everything I did to you that you could possibly want to marry me. I am truly sorry I put you in that awkward of a position."

"Kelly, please-"

"No, it's okay. We've said everything we need to say, I guess, except congratulations. I truly hope that she treats you right and helps make all your dreams come true." She is such a masochist, but she has to ask, "She's good to you, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, she is," Joey answers. "Really good to me."

_Better than I was,_ Kelly thinks. _She is probably some perfect, amazing Mother Theresa type who would never cheat on Joey._

"Well, uh, I am glad," she says, and a part of her is glad that he has found someone who makes him happy. But a selfish part of her wishes he could be happy with her again.

"I know it's a lot to ask right now, but it's a small town, so when you meet her, will you be nice to her?"

"I should be offended by that question, Joey. You had no qualms about me meeting her before, I am guessing, so why now? Because I stupidly thought you wanted us to have a second chance? I am not going to begrudge you your happiness, Joey. You and this girl –"

"Aubrey."

"Aubrey, what?" Kelly asks, feeling a sinking suspicion suddenly.

"It doesn't matter."

"Oh, yes it does."

"Her name is Aubrey Wentworth."

"Oh god," Kelly moans.

"What is it, Kelly?"

"I know her. I mean, I met her on the plane. She was telling me all about this wonderful guy of hers …" _And I told her all about the special guy I wanted back and now this is two hundred times more awkward. She's going to think I am after her man. Things will be extra painful,_ she thinks.

"Is it too late to disappear into the Bermuda Triangle?" Kelly moans out loud.

"Aubrey must feel comfortable with you if she confided in you."

_Oh joy._ Kelly nods. "Anyway, I need to be going. _For real."_ She walks towards the door and for the briefest moment, she thinks he's going to stop her when he calls her name.

_"__Kelly?"_

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry if I hurt you."

She blinks back tears. "I am sorry I hurt you," she replies, and then walks out. She makes it outside and into her car before the tears start. She sits there for a long moment, because she can't possibly drive in this condition. Only when the tears subside does she start up the car. She pulls away from the curb and away from her dreams. She is going to drown herself in the biggest glass of wine ever…


	7. Put a Ring On It (3 of 3)

Here's the last part.

**Put a Ring on It  
****3/3**

"How did you find me?" She asks as with a sigh as she senses his presence. She doesn't even have to look up and actually see him to feel him.

He sits down beside her at the bar. "Well, I literally looked everywhere else for you in town. Rodi's was the last place on the list."

She remembers a time they would have found each other right away with no problem. A time when they were of one heart and one mind. It breaks her knowing that they aren't connected that way anymore. At least, that's how it feels to her – like there's a huge divide between them.

She says nothing as he watches her. "So what's your plan, Kel?" he asks. "To sit here all night and get sauced?"

"Basically. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm only half 'sauced'. Gotta aways to go yet…"

"Kelly, I am not going to sit here and watch you drink yourself into a coma."

"You have the option to leave," Kelly returns as she puts the glass to her lips. "Isn't Aubrey waiting anyway?"

She sounds so bitter even to her own ears, and he immediately calls her on it the way only he can. "Stop that, Kelly. You're not yourself right now. This isn't you."

"Well, excuse me if I am a tad bit embarrassed by the whole situation that went down in your room. I mean, I actually assumed you wanted me after all this time and –" She breaks off as he gives her a soft look.

"Kel, that's the problem – I _do_ want you," Joey says and she nearly drops her drink in surprise; her hand is shaking so badly.

She finds her voice and her words are still bitter. "You mean you want me against your own will – is that what you're trying to say? That's so nice to know, Joey. What a burden on your impossibly broad shoulders…"

"Kelly, come on. It's not like that and you know it. The problem is I was dating another woman; I was about to propose to her –"

_"__Was?"_ She asks, arching an eyebrow. "You're not …"

"No. I broke off things. The second you walked out of the room, I realized I absolutely could not marry Aubrey. That I didn't want to. If anyone ever gets a ring from me, it's going to be you, Kelly. You're the one I want, Kelly, the only one I have ever wanted and I was a fool to let you walk out thinking I didn't care."

She can't find her voice so she reaches for her drink again, but he takes her hand before she can. "Say something, Kelly, please."

"I'm shocked," she answers. "You wanted to marry Aubrey and –"

"I did, but not because I was madly in love with her, Kelly. I wasn't even infatuated, to be honest. It was a knee-jerk reaction; born of complete insanity. I wanted to forget you. I wanted to put you in the past before I returned to Llanview, but I can't. I never could because you have my heart. I just thought my brother would always be it for you."

"God, Joey," she murmurs. "I adore Kevin, but I'm not in love with him, and I guess I never really have been. It was always you for me. I ran from you because I believed eventually you would leave me, and I wanted to cut the apron strings before it could hurt any worse. I fell in love with you more and more each second…"

"I _did_ leave you," Joey said. "All your fears came true, and I promised I was the one person who would never hurt you. And I did. I'm so sorry, Kel."

"I hurt you too, Joey. In unforgivable ways …"

Joey shakes his head. "I was angry for a really long time; I admit that, but that's over. I am ready to move forward and embrace whatever comes our way … Assuming you want that too…"

Kelly's eyes moisten with fresh tears. "Do you even have to ask? _Of course_ I want that."

Joey smiles then. "Me too. I want you, Kelly. You've always been the one. The only one." He leans over and kisses her tentatively on the lips. Soon the kiss is growing in passion and urgency.

Kelly pulls away first, panting almost, her breath coming in short puffs. "Wow… Did that really just happen?"

"Yeah, I think so." He kisses her again with all the passion and longing inside of him.

When they pull apart, Kelly thumbs his cheek. "There are a helluva lot of promises in that kiss, Joe."

"And I promise I will live up to every one of them," Joey said, threading their fingers. "Say you believe that."

"I do, Joey, I do."

FINIS


End file.
